


a whole bunch of nonsense

by oncebits_unite



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: A bit of swearing, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Teachers, F/F, Fluff, There is comedy, can you tell i don't know how to tag, generally lighthearted atmosphere, members from other girl groups show up or get mentioned, then there is comedy: the attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28643427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oncebits_unite/pseuds/oncebits_unite
Summary: Sana's a soft, bubbly Psych teacher and Dahyun's a strict, no-nonsense gym teacher.Nayeon sees them breathing the same air and decides they're perfect for each other. Also, she's willing to reap the benefits of happy teachers = better grades.Based on this AU prompt: https://twitter.com/girlcrushdubu/status/1344653424512487427(more cool saida prompts over there!)
Relationships: Chou Tzuyu/Son Chaeyoung, Im Nayeon/Yoo Jeongyeon, Kim Dahyun/Minatozaki Sana, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Myoui Mina/Park Jisoo | Jihyo
Comments: 28
Kudos: 161





	1. The Find

**Author's Note:**

> That damn twitter prompt wouldn't leave my head so I decided to just write it myself.
> 
> ALSO ALSO I'm a first-time (maybe one-time) fic writer, so don't bite. :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: there may be minor plot holes regarding school schedules and stuff
> 
> squint for minor jensoo from bp

‘Twas the night before the first day of the infamous end-of-quarter exams of JYP High, when all through the girls’ dormitory, not a student was stirring, not even a mouse.

It was a very important affair after all. Stress was at an all-time high and morale was at an all-time low. Excuses to parents for sub-par grades were elaborately prepared (even moreso than actual study guides) and plans for which items on the test could be completely skipped altogether while still getting a passing score were arranged. Oh, and don’t forget the people who actually work their asses off to get at least a passing score.

Take one particular dorm room, for example.

The constant, humming whir of the ceiling fan, the light flutter of pages turning, the occasional tip-tapping of the pencil, the lulling click-clacking of the laptop keyboard. Ah, yes indeed…‘twas a peaceful and quie—

“I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!”

Well, except for one Im Nayeon.

She had her feet propped up on her desk and her back leaning on a chair dangerously close to tipping over. She had been watching two small spiders fighting to the death on the ceiling above her and it was getting soooooo boring. Not one millisecond had passed since she broke her roommates’ eardrums when they let out grumbles and groans almost as loud.

“Unnie, you promised!”

“You said you were going to try, dammit!”

“Remember I told you last year that if you actually tried to study, maybe the tests wouldn’t be so hard?”

Nayeon waved off her friends dismissively. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m sorry, guys. Carry on.”

And so, the mood turned still once again as quickly as it had changed.

Save for that tiny blip, yes indeed, ‘twas a peaceful and quiet ni—

“I’m telling you guys, it’s the find of a lifetime.”

A laptop slammed close. A book slammed close. A drawer slammed close. A startled Nayeon had to grip the front of her desk to prevent herself from falling backward. Again.

“That’s it.”

Chaeyoung stomped over to middle of the room. “Nayeon unnie, if you don’t tell us what this damn ‘find’ of yours is, my brain's going to burst.”

“Yeah,” Tzuyu added, pushing her chair in and joining Chaeyoung. She rubbed between her girlfriend’s shoulder blades soothingly and felt the shorter girl’s tense back deflate slowly. “You’ve been muttering ‘find’ over and over under your breath since you got out of gym class. I mean, I never get scared and I have to admit it’s getting pretty creepy. We really want to know.”

“I don’t,” a voice from the end of the room said. “I already know what it’s going to be and it’s going to be the same stupid nonsense all over again.”

Nayeon pouted. “Yah, Yoo Jeongyeon, first of all, you don’t know shit. And second of all, you don’t even know what kind of ‘find’ this is.”

“Except I do.” Jeongyeon clicked off her table lamp, pushed her chair in, and shuffled to the middle of the room. “It’s the same old desperate plan again, so she can get passing grades fast to make up for the fact that she can’t take things slow and open a textbook instead of her Twitter feed for once in her life.”

“Ouch,” Chaeyoung commented, erupting into a fit of snickers.

The pout on Nayeon’s face intensified, but she didn’t bother to make a snappy comeback. Instead, she flopped down on the floor and slapped her palm on the cold, hard tiles in front of her. “Just shut up and sit in the Sewing Circle, guys.”

Sewing Circle. That was a name Nayeon came up with, of course. Both for their little group of rag-tag rascals and their little late-night meetings held in a small circle in the middle of their dorm room. Their team name wasn’t named for their exceptional sewing skills (in fact, they had none), but for a piece of trivia the movie-obsessed Nayeon had encountered one day.

_“Whoaaaa.”_

_She glanced around at her roommates. To Nayeon’s disappointment, no one asked her about what she was ooh-ing and ah-ing at. Nevertheless, she persisted._

_“Did you guys know that in the first half of the 20 th century in Hollywood, there was an underground group of closeted lesbian and bisexual actresses called the Sewing Circle?” Nayeon rambled excitedly, her mouth hanging open at her laptop screen._

_“Nayeon, the Psychology exam is tomorrow. Close that damn tab.”_

_“But isn’t that such a cool name? Tzuyu, don’t you at least agree? Chae?”_

_“Yes, unnie. Now, like Jeongyeon unnie said: close that damn tab.”_

_“Fine, you killjoys.” Nayeon didn’t close the tab. She muttered under her breath, “Hmm, I do like that name.”_

“You’re annoying, but I do like that name.” Tzuyu gently pulled Chaeyoung down with her, and Jeongyeon relented with an exaggerated sigh.

Now that they were all sitting cross-legged in their so-called Sewing Circle, Nayeon assumed a serious, solemn demeanor. The trio in front of her were inwardly surprised. What kind of find would make the decidedly non-serious, non-solemn Im Nayeon so doggedly determined?

“Have you ladies heard of the cinematic masterpiece known as ‘Clueless’?”

Chaeyoung and Tzuyu nodded fervently. Jeongyeon buried her head in her hands. She should have known. Nayeon, unfazed, pushed on.

“In it, the main character and my personal fashion icon Cher finds several ways to get around bad grades before she makeovers her soul near the end. She’s cunning. She negotiates like a real estate broker, makes perfect excuses like a recently unemployed father, and argues like her _own_ father, a lawyer.

“But there’s one thing she does that’s not only for her own benefit, but also for the benefit of two lovely, lonely souls.”

Jeongyeon rolled her eyes and lied backward, laying limp and forlorn.

“I observed something life-changing earlier today.”

*

7:30 A.M.

Scientifically, this was around thirty minutes before the average teenage brain usually begins to wake up and was around a full five hours before Nayeon’s brain preferred to wake up.

Water jug in one hand and school I.D. in the other, the girl dragged herself across the soccer field, through the small parking lot, up the stairs of the Physical Education building, and into the freakishly large basketball court where more grueling P.E. classes than actual basketball games had occurred spanning the whole existence of JYP High.

She set her jug and I.D. down on the bleachers at the side and made her way to the designated warm-up lines full of chattering students that had formed at the forefront of the gym. Nayeon sighed in relief. She really thought she had been late yet again. She didn’t want to make such a grand entrance in this particular class. No sir. Not at all. 

“Unnie, long time no see!”

Momo waved her hands over her head, like she had just seen her long-lost sister for the first time at an airport terminal. Irene, who was right behind her, had to quickly dodge her rogue arms.

Cue Nayeon’s gummy grin. “Don’t say that, huh.” She stopped in front of her and playfully shoved Momo’s shoulder. A deeply annoyed Irene had to dodge Momo again, as she stumbled backward in mock pain. “I just never cared for physical exertion so early in the morning, that’s all. Hi, Irene.”

The usually cool Irene smiled back at her. “I’m glad you decided to join us again this morning, Im Nayeon. Hopefully, the she-devil doesn’t notice.”

“Yeah.” Nayeon let out a shaky laugh and turned to face forward, spearheading her own line. She leaned forward and impatiently craned her neck towards the entrance. “Where is she, anyway?”

Irene hummed. “I don’t know and I don’t care. I just hope she’s either absent or that another teacher comes and saves us by chatting her up about boring school stuff.”

Momo’s face lit up. “Oooh! I know who should come and save us!”

“If she comes, it would be a miracle.” Irene smirked. “And a field day for us all.”

Nayeon, giving up on patience and giving in to curiosity, straightened her back and turned around to face the two again. “Who are you talking about?”

“Sweet innocent Nayeon. You’re missing out on a lot by missing your alarms, you know,” Irene replied, exchanging furtive glances with Momo.

Nayeon whined and stomped her foot childishly. “Oh, come on, tell me!”

Momo chuckled and waved her off. “It’s nothing…oh, hey!” She rushed out of the line and in front of all her fellow classmates.

Jisoo, ever the responsible and somewhat paranoid class president, widened her eyes and called to her through gritted teeth. “Momo, you naughty girl! What are you doing?”

“Unnie! Everyone! While we wait, I want to show that I’ve finally perfected the signature Momo Move: a beautiful cartwheel-into-a-backflip!” Everyone’s respective conversations suddenly died down as they turned their attention towards her. Jisoo nervously gnawed at her knuckles while shooting incessant peeps at the gym entrance.

“Shh, babe. Don’t do that.” Right behind her, Jennie gently separated fist-from-mouth.

Momo stretched out her arms like an Olympic gymnast and then propelled her body sideward into a successful cartwheel. Low whoops came from her frisbee teammates in the class. Now, for the backflip. She wiggled her body, primed for success. She lifted her feet, launched backward, and—

“HIRAI MOMO!”

\--landed butt-first on the ground.

“Shirts! Tuck your shirts in!” Jisoo hissed at her classmates, who passed the message on. Everyone, including Nayeon, scrambled to pull their jogging pants up over their wrinkled shirts.

“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. What a stunt to pull.”

Only the tiny moans of pain from Momo and the squeaks from the footsteps of their newly arrived gym teacher echoed through the room.

She came to a stop in front of Momo. She, with her milky white sneakers. She, with her milkier, even whiter skin. She, with her obnoxious black and white checkered tracksuit that Nayeon had to force herself from setting on fire. Yes, she, with the name of—

“The she-devil arrives at the most opportune moment,” Irene murmured, loud enough for only Nayeon to hear.

“M-miss Kim, I’m really sorry,” Jisoo spoke up in a small voice. Jennie squeezed her girlfriend’s hand in quiet support.

“Good morning, Miss Kim!” Everyone greeted, putting on their best goody-two-shoes smiles.

“You hear that, Miss Hirai?”

“Fine morning to you too, Miss Kim,” Momo squeaked through a sheepish grin, bowing from her position on the floor.

“Im Nayeon, kind of you to join us after a lifetime. Let’s hope you don’t make any more excuses like this young woman may have to come up with very soon.” Nayeon flinched at her name—let alone her full name—but to her surprise, Miss Kim didn’t even look up from where Momo was. She had clearly found her victim for the day.

“So,” Miss Kim did not relax out of her stiff stance, instead choosing to fold her arms. “Care to explain?”

“Ah w-well you see, Miss Kim, the masses,” Momo limply gestured to her classmates, as she, with great effort, stood up to see her gym teacher eye-to-eye. “They were getting antsy. Noisy. Restless. They needed some form of,” She swallowed the big lump in her throat. “E-entertainment. You see…” She trailed off, cowering under Miss Kim’s stony gaze.

For a long while, she just stared him down. The silence was deafening, loud enough to hear the sweat trickling down from Momo’s eyebrows. Then, finally—

“Ah. The masses,” Miss Kim uttered, starting to pace across each line.

Every head she passed dropped down like dominoes, careful not to meet her eyes.

“The masses, you say? The _masses_ have had their times wasted. The _masses_ will remember to tuck in their shirts before I come in. Each of the _masses_ will do twenty jumping jacks. The _masses_ will then sit down and be quiet after they’re finished. The _masses_ will then watch you finish the last of your fifty push-ups. Starting…”

Momo and the rest of the class were collectively startled out of their nervous bearings and into their diligent work-out positions.

Miss Kim pulled out her stopwatch. “…NOW!”

“One! Two! Three! Four!” Voices loud and small rang through the whole gym. Arms waved about and legs stretched apart and back together.

“One. Two. Three. Four.” Momo dropped instantaneously and went up, down, up, down, up, down. Huff, puff, huff, puff, huff, puff.

Kim Dahyun had no time for nonsense.

Perhaps that’s why she became a gym teacher. Conditioning students to their full physical potential required a completely no-nonsense attitude.

Before long, everyone except Momo had finished with their punishments.

“Twenty-six, twenty-seven…”

Nayeon couldn’t help but feel sorry for the clearly out-of-breath Japanese. She felt helpless just sitting there, watching her push up and go down towards her slow and painful death.

“Twenty…”

“Twenty, Miss Hirai?”

“…nine…”

“Don’t tell me you skipped Math, too.”

Irene leaned in to whisper in her ear. “She’s gonna need that miracle now.”

Now unbelievably frustrated, Nayeon whipped her head to face Irene. “What the hell is this miracle you’re ta—”

“—Im Nayeon.”

Miss Kim reared her head and locked down on her new target.

Nayeon gulped. She was really going to need that miracle, right about—

“Dahyunnie!”

Sweet honey. Nayeon loved sweet honey. She often sneaked out of her room to the kitchen for a midnight snack consisting of two, three, maybe ten spoonfuls of nothing but good, pure, sweet honey. She never imagined she’d hear it flutter out of a person’s mouth. Never thought she’d be lucky enough to see it in human form.

Maybe Jeongyeon. No, Jeongyeon’s voice was more like smooth, rich chocolate she could savor for days on end…but that’s besides the point.

Because the point was, the owner of the honey voice had strode over to where Momo and Miss Kim were, clad in a sharp but cute lavender suit leagues more fashionable than the gym teacher’s get-up. The point was, the atmosphere suddenly relaxed, Jisoo had slackened her eternally wooden posture against Jennie’s open arms, Irene had smirked so loud that Nayeon could have heard it all the way from Timbuktu, and Momo had had time to catch her breath as she lay like a burned-out baby on the ground.

The point was, that Kim Dahyun’s stone-cold glare had instantly melted into a lopsided, goofy grin and an eye smile so exceptionally treacly it almost made Nayeon squeal at how adorable it was. Miss Kim? Adorable? As if.

She came to a stop in front of Miss Kim and Momo. She, with the name of—

“Everyone, say good morning to the other Psychology teacher Miss Minatozaki Sana!” Miss Kim bellowed, reverting back to a serious face, once she caught herself.

“Good morning, Miss Minatozaki!” Everyone stood up and greeted, a few of them already tittering and sniggering amongst themselves.

Miss Minatozaki let out a sickeningly sweet giggle. Nayeon swore she could hear one of Momo’s frisbee bros mutter under his breath: “Oh, dammit.”

“Nonsense, Dahyunnie. Tell them to call me Sana.”

Miss Kim cleared her throat. “U-um, I’m not entirely sure that’s…”

Miss Kim trailed off as Miss Minatozaki leaned forward to the crowd and held up her hand to her ear, clearly waiting for a response.

Nayeon was amused. She didn’t know who Miss Minatozaki was, probably because they had a different Psychology teacher altogether, but she did hear the occasional murmurs about her. Nice. Cool. Fun. Smart. Hot. Mega hot. Honey sweet. And apparently, as she was seeing right in front of her, had the demeanor of a kindergarten teacher instead of an instructor in one of the most prestigious high schools in the country. 

“Good morning, Sana!” The titters and sniggers grew more pronounced.

“Ah yes, music to my ears!” Sana said in a sing-song voice, even more sweet and harmonious than her own speaking voice.

“Now, for Miss Kim!”

A mischievous grin slithered across her face.

“Call her Dahyun!”

Everyone, especially Irene, was having the time of their life.

“Er, Sana—”

“GOOD MORNING, DAHYUN!”

The whole class had now been reduced to unhinged belly laughs. Nayeon wished they had this sense of community in their last class project, which would have saved Jisoo a whole world of stress and pain, but for now, she was living in the moment.

Sana laughed with them, the sound playing like a melodious harp dripping with honey and crystallized sugar in all of their ears.

Minatozaki Sana had all the time for nonsense.

Maybe that’s why she became a Psychology teacher. Humans are nonsense, after all.

“Good, good!” Sana clapped her hands excitedly when everyone had caught their breaths. “You know, I was thinking, the school should really encourage such behavior. Not necessarily calling teachers by their first names, although I’d like that from all of you.”

She winked at them and Nayeon could hear boys and girls alike sigh with adoration. To her wicked delight, it seemed like Dahyun had sighed the hardest.

“No, I simply mean that teachers should be more friendly to their students. Of course, there is that unspoken teacher-student boundary, but having just enough transparency between both parties will lead to a mutually beneficial relationship. The teacher gets to teach in an easier way to the students, and the students will appreciate the teacher’s efforts more. The teacher learns from the student, and the student learns from the teacher. I should know about these things. I teach Psych after all.” Chuckles rippled through the fixated students.

“Don’t you agree, Dahyunnie?” Sana suddenly turned from the class to Dahyun, who was taken aback.

Nayeon’s mind was running on a treadmill of ideas, of possibilities, of scenarios. Clear as day, she could see the two teachers almost frozen in time.

The light breeze fanning in from the windows in the gym leisurely playing with Sana’s chestnut brown locks. The white of Dahyun’s skin slowly, ploddingly being dipped in beet red that spread from her cheeks all the way to her ears. The profound gaze they shared.

The electricity.

The sparks.

The romance.

They were witness to probably the greatest love story JYP High had ever known (since Principal Park Jihyo had discovered yogurt smoothies and added them to every single menu in the school).

_Well, not just yet_ , Nayeon thought. They needed some prodding.

“Um,” Her voice had cracked. Dahyun dug her hands deep in her pockets and guiltily glanced at the class, before looking square at Sana’s eyes and saying in a firmer voice: “Now I see. Yes.”

Light gasps emanated from the students. Dahyun looked a bit fidgety at suddenly showing her vulnerable side to the class, but drew strength from the tender smile on Sana's face.

Nayeon shook her head in amazement. “You’re right, Irene. She’s _good_.”

“Damn right she is, you lucky, lucky bitch.”

Nayeon shrugged, throwing a smug look over her shoulder. “Guess it’s not my off day.”

“Don’t forget, we have a test in Chemistry later.”

“Shit.”

Out of nervous habit, Dahyun cleared her throat again. “So, um, Miss Mi—Sana—what brings you here?”

Sana looked confused for a second, then, “Oh! Right.”

She took Dahyun’s hand in hers, but before leading her away to the bleachers, she turned to the class and said, "By the way, good luck on your exams tomorrow! You know I don't grade easy." Sana was mostly teasing, but this comment earned groans from the students, because yes, it was true. She may be the friendliest teacher, but she was also one of the most demanding in terms of proper test answers and essays. There was absolutely no half-assing allowed. Sana giggled again (which made people replace their complaints with more adoring sighs) and then started to make her way to the bleachers while addressing a slowly melting Dahyun, "You see, Jihyo said there's a bit of the problem with the..." Their voices faded away. 

Jisoo beckoned to Momo, who had been watching the whole affair from her spot lying cheek-down on the floor.

“Are you sure, unnie? I’m not finished.”

“Yeah, but don’t do something stupid like that ever again,” Jisoo said, concern clearly showing at the big puddle of sweat pooling under Momo. “Everyone, sit down again please.”

The class obediently followed their class president, with Momo clumsily following and taking back her spot in the line between Nayeon and Irene. Idle chatter had started to rise yet again, but Nayeon wasn’t paying attention to any of it.

It’s kind of creepy, she knows. But she was just so intrigued. She couldn’t stop staring. Couldn’t stop wondering how two people that were so different could talk like how they are now. It was probably some work-related thing they had started out conversing about, but now their conversation was filled with giggles, teasing jabs, and the brightest smile Nayeon had seen on Miss Kim, erm, Dahyun.

Nayeon wasn’t sure it was the most professional thing for them to be doing right now, but she didn’t really care.

She had her ‘find’.

(“Thank you, Miss D-Dahyunnie, for not letting me continue with the push-ups earlier today. It means a lot.”

Dahyun scowled at Momo. “Don’t poke the bear, kiddo.”)

*

Chaeyoung and Tzuyu were doubling over, lost in fits of laughter.

Chaeyoung wiped a tear from her eye. “That’s like straight out of a k-drama!”

“Priceless, really. Priceless,” Tzuyu added, slapping her hand on her knee.

Once they had calmed down, Nayeon looked at them all expectantly.

“So, is that it?”

“No, Tzuyu, I’m bringing this to the Sewing Circle because I need your help.”

“With studying for tomorrow?”

“No, no, Chae. Come on, don’t get smart with me, guys. You know you’re all here, because we have to get Sana (*regular smile*) and _Dahyun_ (*big, dumb gummy smile*) be happier than they already are dancing around each other.”

"Nayeon, yes."  
"Nayeon, yes."

“Nayeon, no.” Jeongyeon brought herself back from the earth. “No.”

“Wait, what?” Chaeyoung said. “But this is big, Jeongyeon! Big!”

“Big!” Tzuyu echoed. “Nayeon still needs to study, but yeah, I’m down with whatever she comes up with. She’s just stumbled upon what looks like, dare I say it, fate.”

“But she’s been doing this since middle school!” Jeongyeon scrambled up and pointed an accusing finger at Nayeon, who also clambered to her feet, along with Chaeyoung and Tzuyu. It should have been a tense moment, but it only looked like a little kid ratting out another kid for stealing her toy truck on the playground

Which was how they met, by the way. But that’s besides the point.

“She sees two teachers just breathing the same air and she wants to pair them up so they’ll be happy enough with their own lives to give good grades!”

“Well, I'm only serious about it now,” Nayeon retorted.

“Remember Miss Jungeun and Miss Jinsoul from preschool?”

“How do you even remember teachers from preschool?” Tzuyu questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“That was one time and they’re happily married now, thank you very much.”

“And almost everyone from elementary up to middle school?”

“Okay, so my success rate is 1 to everything else, but I have faith in this particular pairing.”

Jeongyeon ran a hand through her hair, absurd shock painted on her face. She threw her hands up in defeat.

“I’m done. I’m done! I don’t know what to do with you, Nayeon. You’re hopeless.”

“You only realized that just now?” Chaeyoung cut in.

Nayeon didn’t say anything.

Only puffed out her cheeks, creased her eyebrows, balled up her fists and held them up to her face. And then she stared again at Jeongyeon, this time with big puppy dog eyes that you could just swim in. She was going to break Jeongyeon with her deadliest aegyo and no one was stopping her.

It didn’t take long for Jeongyeon to wave the white flag.

“Fine,” Jeongyeon grumbled, fiddling with the strings on her ratty brown hoodie, trying to focus on literally anything else but Nayeon. “But I’m only doing this because it’s you.”

Nayeon’s signature gummy smile instantly stretched across her face. She poked Jeongyeon’s shoulder. “Aww, is it because _I’m_ your number one?”

A shadow of a smile almost made its way onto Jeongyeon’s face, but thankfully she caught it and scoffed haughtily at the bunny-faced girl tugging at her sleeve. “Your ugly ass? As if!”

The way she embroidered that “as if” with the idiosyncratic flavor of a certain Beverly hills socialite made Nayeon burst with laughter until she realized mid-guffaw what tasteful insult came right before.

“YOO JEONGYEON!”

Chaeyoung and Tzuyu, being the shady people that they are, exchanged meaningful glances not caught by the now-bickering duo in front of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't know how many more chapters i need but for sure it won't be a whole mega-fic saga.
> 
> maybe 1 or 2? if you can't tell, i'm new at this.


	2. Finding Out More

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> decided to have jisoo play a bigger role than planned because why not (also, she's my bias in bp).
> 
> wanted to update sooner but online classes were sucky as usual which sucks since i really enjoy writing for this one. as a result, this chapter is more filler-y. enjoy nonetheless and cheers!

“But, Nayeon, don’t you think this is too obvious, though? You watch too many movies to be smart enough to know that the whole thing is just too perfect, too neat. It’s so easy to tell that the whole of it was orchestrated.”

“Relax, Jeong. I have a feeling it’ll be fine. They’ll be too happy with the extra treats and with each other’s loving embrace that they’ll forgive us—if ever they figure out it’s us—in no time. I’m positive.”

“This is the most reckless and stupid thing we’ve ever done. I love it!”

“That’s the spirit, Chae. And I watch enough movies to know that if we don’t get reckless now, we’ll never have the chance when we’re older since all the magic dies out by then.”

“Huh. That’s kind of a dark way to see things.”

Nayeon shrugged. “It is what it is, Tzu.”

Chaeyoung rubbed her hands together. “Let’s get this shit!”

Jeongyeon sighed. “Yeah, let’s get this shit over with.”

*

First of two days dedicated to the end-of-quarter exams of JYP High. After the last exam is completed, the rest of the afternoon would be free.

Today was info-collecting time. Very simple work. Just needed to be low-key about it, which was definitely not the Sewing Circle’s strong suit, but hey…didn’t hurt to try.

*

A short but rapid rap on the sleek wooden door snapped Principal Park Jihyo out of her hazy daydream.

She immediately withdrew her feet from her desk and slipped on her black heels. She scrambled to make it look like she was sorting through a pile of files.

“Come in!” she ordered.

The knob turned. When Dahyun appeared in the door frame, a slow smile creeped to her lips and her shoulders drooped into a comfortable, casual posture.

“Oh, it’s just you.”

Dahyun only grunted in response. She closed the door behind her and leapt onto the couch at the side of Jihyo’s modest, modernly designed office.

“I’m assuming because you just flopped onto the couch without saying ‘good morning’ that you want Friend Jihyo, and not esteemed Principal Park Jihyo.”

“Yep,” came the muffled reply from under the pillow Dahyun had smacked over her face.

For a few minutes or so, they sat there in comfortable silence. Jihyo thumbing through folders of important documents and Dahyun resting her eyes on the sofa.

They were close enough to know that they didn’t have to fill their time together with meaningless words. Jihyo and Dahyun had known each other since high school and had been lucky enough to stick together until their adult lives. They’ve had enough small talk. Enough stupid questions and equally stupid answers to last a century. But as Jihyo looked up from her work at her best friend and realized something, she reasoned now was the time to fill silence, because she’d noticed something was wrong with the whole order of things. Like she always does.

“Why are you here?”

“Is that a rhetorical or genuinely philosophical question? Don’t answer that. I don’t know what I just said.”

“Dahyun, it’s the end-of-quarter exams. You already held your physical exams a week ago. You should be back at home, still in bed.”

“Can’t I just be here to see the platonic love of my life? My soulmate? My sister from another—”

“—is it her?”

Dahyun transferred the pillow from her face to her lap, swung her feet off the arm of the couch and onto the floor.

Looked straight ahead. “Why is she so confusing?” The question came out nearly a whisper, but the weight of it wasn’t light, like she had been searching for the answer for a lifetime.

She continued, “She calls me Dahyunnie, then goes to Mina and calls her Minari. She notices something new about me that I didn’t even think too much of myself, then proceeds to name all of a student’s seven siblings, both half and full. When she talks to me, she makes me feel special, like we’re the only people left in the world. And then she goes and makes everyone else faint the way I almost do every time I’m with her. She’s so kind and amazing and thoughtful and I don’t even care that she eats all of her Kit Kat at once instead of bar by bar, but she’s so. Damn. Confusing.”

Jihyo stared.

“Well…”

“Another thing. Am I really too strict? Have I been teaching wrong the whole time? I just thought if I maybe established authority that _maybe_ people would respect me, but they most likely fear me now, and even _that’s_ not working nowadays. They still get pretty smart with me. Are you going to fire me for being horrible? Should I just stop wearing tracksuits and just wear jogging pants like a normal human being?”

She turned to Jihyo, half-expecting the fruits of wisdom she was known to possess. The other half, on the other hand…

“This is a _lot_ to process at 7:20 in the morning.”

Ah, yes. There it is.

Dahyun heaved a sigh and scratched the side of her head. She put the pillow aside and stood up.

“It’s okay, Ji. You know I just needed a listening ear.”

Jihyo nodded, cracking a supportive smile, the least she could do. “Of course.”

Dahyun trudged to the door and opened it, about to leave.

“Wait.”

She stopped.

“I say this to every kid who comes here with a failing grade. ‘If you’re confused about something, it doesn’t hurt to ask.’”

“…I love you, Ji. Advanced happy anniversary.”

“Thank you, you jerk. Now go out there. Go easy on the kids today and for the love of God, tie your shoelace. It’s a bad example.”

Dahyun chuckled and looked down at her right shoe. “Sure. Oh, and for the record?”

“Hm?”

“I’m not here for her. I’m here because I left some chocolates in the fridge.”

“ _Sureeee.”_

_*_

During the end-of-quarter exams, there were two types of students.

The first kinds of people were the ultra-responsible types. Those who arrived an hour or more before the first exam of the day and spent the rest of their time either sharpening their wide array of No. 2 pencils or reviewing important material.

The other kinds of people were on the other end of the spectrum, stumbling into the classroom a minute before 8:00 A.M. with a nearly-finished yogurt smoothie in one hand and the wrong kind of pencil in the other (No. 3 is not a good look).

This meant that the halls of the high school were nearly empty in the time between 7:00 and 8:00 in the morning during these two days.

So, it was just Dahyun’s luck when she barely exited Jihyo’s office before she accidentally stepped on her untied shoelace and fell forward, right into the only other person in the hallway. Fortunately, the passerby turned in time and caught her in their strong hold.

_Ugh. This is so embarrassing. I should have stayed home after all._

“I’m sorry, kiddo,” she croaked into fabric, wishing a hole would just swallow her up then and there.

Her knight in shining armor giggled a very, very familiar giggle. The honey sweet kind.

_Hole, hole, hole, hole. Where is that hole when you need it?!_

“I can see the headlines now. ‘Gym Teacher Doesn’t Know How to Tie Her Shoelace. Arrested for Breaking the First Laws of Gym’” Sana teased.

Dahyun grabbed hold of Sana’s shoulders, slightly wrinkling the pads on her magenta blazer and pushed herself up to her own height in lightning speed. She cleared her throat and smoothed down her tracksuit.

“Good morning, Sana.”

“Good morning, Dahyunnie!”

_There it was._

“Um, where are you headed?”

 _She’s about to be confused. Even just for a second._ “Huh?” _Then realize what she came here to do._ “Oh! I was on my way to a library. Just needed to check a reference book for a sec.” Dahyun smiled fondly. _There it is._

Sana smiled back. “And you’re here—”

“—for some chocolates I left in the fridge—”

“—with a new and fabulous tracksuit!”

_There it was. The ‘noticing things’ part._

Her so-called new and fabulous tracksuit was an odd checkered combination of a bright hot shade of pink and a more muted apricot. Dahyun consciously fingered the zipper. She wasn’t blind to the fact that her fashion sense was considered unique, to say the least. She wasn’t deaf as well to the snickers and nasty whispers about it.

Sana traced a finger on the fabric over Dahyun’s bicep, not noticing the gym teacher’s breath hitch with the gentle touch.

“I think you look very dashing in it.” Sana withdrew her finger and used it to lightly boop Dahyun’s already sweating nose. “It suits you.”

She said it with such undeniable sincerity, that Dahyun’s heart suddenly took off and ran a marathon, threatening to burst clean through her chest.

_There it was. The part where she made you feel like you’re the only two people left in the world._

“Well,” Sana said, bringing Dahyun back to reality. “I’ll be on my way now before I forget again.”

“Yes, you do that, Sana.”

She left Dahyun rooted to her spot, watching her walk away, memorizing every curve and every sway, and almost sending the gym teacher’s weak heart into sprint mode again when she looked over her shoulder and gave a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it wink that Dahyun wished she could have etched in her brain.

Dahyun was done for.

“Good morning, Jisoo! Good luck on your exams today. You’re so smart, I know you’ll do well.”

Jisoo, a bit stunned but not expecting any less from the overly friendly Psych teacher, smiled back, slightly blushing. “Thank you, Miss Sana.”

Sana hummed in reply, walked further down the hall and turned left down the hallway.

*

Jisoo was strolling down the hallway when she was greeted by Miss Sana, the other Psych teacher. Nice to get a compliment from her (particularly her, for she, like everyone single and taken alike, had harbored a very tiny crush on the bubbly teacher), but that’s not who she was looking for.

Ah, there she is! She spotted Miss Kim weirdly standing like a stiff board in the middle of the hallway, looking like she had been hypnotized by something straight ahead.

Jisoo briefly looked back, almost expecting a swinging pocket watch, but only saw a small glimpse of cocoa-colored hair before it disappeared around the corner. She had to contain herself from laughing.

Their observations had been right after all.

Jisoo turned her head back to Miss Kim, this time registering another one of her garish checkered tracksuits. She almost missed her, as she was momentarily blinded by the loud colors that had attacked her eyes, but managed to backpedal a few steps when she suddenly remembered what she was being paid a quarter of Chaeyoung’s strawberry supply for.

“Miss Kim?”

For the second time today, Dahyun was brought back to reality.

“Oh, good morning, Jisoo. Is there anything you need?” She didn’t want to admit it out loud, but she definitely held a greater ounce of respect for the one person in her own class with actual brain cells.

“Good morning, Miss Kim. First of all, I’d like to apologize for the, uh… _antics_ of yesterday.”

“Nonsense, Jisoo. It wasn’t your fault. And…” Dahyun cleared her throat, a bit uncertain of what would come next out of her mouth. “…I’m not crazy about all of Miss Sana’s ideas, but I’m willing to try out first-name basis.”

“Okay, then Miss D-Dahyun.” Her gym teacher’s first name on her tongue tasted foreign and stilting. A bizarre flavor she wished she’d never have to encounter again. She hoped to God when the two teachers got together, that Miss Sana would relieve Miss Kim of the first-name basis thing.

Well, anyway. Here goes. “I just wanted to ask what time you usually go home every day, Miss.”

“And why is that?”

“Well, for consultation purposes and future inquiries. Keep in mind, Miss, that it’s not just for me, but also on behalf of my class.”

See, this is why she liked this kid. “I admire your initiative, Kim Jisoo. Don’t worry about how long I stay around. I usually don’t have any work, but I just hang around the faculty room because I have no life.”

Jisoo coughed.

“To be honest, I don’t know how these ‘transparency’ things work. I thought a bit of humor would lighten the mood, but seeing your face, I’m not so sure I’m doing it right.”

‘Oh no, Miss!” Jisoo responded a bit too quickly. “It’s fine. I…have no life too. I guess?”

Dahyun clasped her hands together to prevent another awkward cough from Jisoo.

“Well, let’s end the conversation here, shall we? You have an exam to get to and I have a non-existent life to live.” She let out a shaky laugh and squeezed Jisoo’s shoulder, trying to reassure her.

“Good luck on your exams.”

Jisoo smiled and nodded, but still felt she was treading on hot coals. There was a sudden thought that had gripped at her throat since she saw Miss Kim staring longingly at Miss Sana’s retreating figure and she was thinking of letting it clamber out. For once, she didn’t really care about the consequences of her actions. Just wanted to let it all out and make one mistake in her life.

It came out in an incoherent string of words that she tripped over multiple times.

“Miss—ana’s n-nice. She’s good, you guys are nice. To—gether, okibye!”

Jisoo bowed quickly, before dashing down the hallway and up the stairwell to the third floor. Chaeyoung, who had been eavesdropping from around the corner nearby, followed after her. She pulled on Jisoo’s arm to stop her from running away.

“What the hell, Jisoo! What the hell was that!” she whisper-shouted, visibly freaking out.

This was the end and they hadn’t even started yet. Nayeon was going to go ballistic.

Jisoo’s eyes nearly bulged out of her head and she slapped a hand over her mouth when she realized what her briefly over-confident self had done.

She moved her hand to her forehead and her eyes darted around. “I don’t know why I did that. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m—”

“Hey, hey, hey.” Chaeyoung forcefully steadied Jisoo by her shoulders and took the class president’s face in her hands. “It’s okay, calm down. You still get the strawberries.”

Chaeyoung pulled out a small brown paper bag and showed the contents to Jisoo, whose mouth instantly watered at the sight. That certainly calmed her down.

“You did good, though. I couldn’t have done it. You’re the only person I know besides Nayeon who can pull random excuses or vocab shit out of your ass,” Chaeyoung remarked. “Thanks for worming it out for me.”

“No problem.” Jisoo looked up from her prize and grinned. “I’m still sorry, but in all honesty, I don’t even think what I just said will affect your little plan. Miss Kim’s already whipped.”

“You’re right. They just need a little nudge.”

*

JYP High’s hallways ran rectangular nearly each floor, especially the second one, which meant the hallway parallel to the one with Principal Park’s office had the library at the far end of it.

Tzuyu ran the floor plan in her head over and over again as she sat at one of the small tables in the library, near the entrance. It was getting tiring and very confusing when she recounted each idea and word in her head, but she had nothing else to do while waiting for Miss Sana to come inside.

_Jennie Kim_

Miss Sana on her way up to the library, her usual morning hangout.

Taking the Principal Park route, which is weird since it takes longer.

_Tzu_

Thanks.

I owe you a cone.

_Jennie Kim_

:D

Tzuyu tried to think of something more interesting. Running out of material, she replayed some snippets of the night before in her head.

_“—wait, wait, wait.”_

_“How dare you interrupt me, Yoo Jeong—”_

_“—you do realize that there’s an easier way to do this right?”_

_“What?”_

_“Duh, I don’t know,” Jeongyeon answered in a mocking tone. “How about just asking their fellow teachers about their dismissal schedules?”_

_Nayeon rolled her eyes. “What if they tell either one of them that we asked for their dismissal schedules? What if they get suspicious when we say, ‘hey, don’t tell Miss Sana I asked what time she gets off ‘cause I’m gonna go and rob her desk while she’s away.’?” She shook her head. “No, we can’t have any traces of evidence left behind. We have to get all answers from the direct source. It’s the only way. Plus, it’s fun.”_

_Chaeyoung nudged Jeongyeon’s shoulder. “It’s fun.”_

_Jeongyeon’s jaw dropped open in disbelief. “Are you seriou—never mind. Fine. Let’s just do it. But we’re putting the blame on Nayeon if we get found out.”_

_“Yoo Jeong—”_

_“Watch what happens when you call me by my full name again.”_

What a mess her little Sewing Circle was.

Tzuyu tapped her fingernails on the table and whistled a tune that went nowhere, ignoring the librarian Miss Myoui’s eyes burning on the back of her head.

The library’s almost a ghost town around this time. Tzuyu wondered why Miss Myoui was on her shit.

She closed her eyes. No choice but to be the calm, easy-going person she was and just…think.

_“Last question.”_

_“Shoot.”_

_“Why now? Why plan on the brink of one of the most demanding exam periods that this school has to offer?”_

_Chaeyoung puckered her lips. “Jeongyeon-unnie has a point.”_

_“If we get them together during this period, when they go into the grading process, they’ll be in such a good, lovesick mood that they’ll give us good test scores for—” Nayeon used air quotes, “—‘one of the most demanding exam periods that this school has to offer’.”_

_She tossed her hair back._

_“Besides, why waste time on fate?”_

_“Only according to you,” Jeongyeon pointed out. “You’re so deep in this whole situation that it’s mildly concer…_

_…..ni….ng……_

“No napping in the library,” Miss Myoui said in a deadpan tone.

Tzuyu’s eyes flew open.

“Why are you here, Miss Chou? You have an exam in less than an hour.”

 _Damn it,_ Tzuyu mentally chastised herself. _Should have been less suspicious by pretending to look for a book._

 _But they’re so boring, though_ , the other part of her protested.

“Miss Chou?”

The library door opened.

“Minari!”

“Satang, not too loud.”

A giggle. _That’s probably her,_ Tzuyu thought. She spun her head from her spot that had her back turned to the entrance. Bright. Happy. Probably works part-time at an animal shelter.

Yep, that’s her.

“Sorry. I’ll just look around like always.”

Miss Myoui cracked a faint smile and adjusted her spectacles. She turned her attention back to the library cards on her desk. “It’s okay. Just don’t make someone faint in my library.”

Tzuyu huffed. _Enough of the banter already. Get a move on._

“Ah, you tease. Say hello to the wife for me.”

“Ha ha.”

Tzuyu watched as Sana disappeared into the Reference section, then slipped out of her chair to follow. It wasn’t long before she cornered the Psych teacher, who had been perusing thick volumes with long and flowery titles Tzuyu could care less about.

“Good morning, Tzu! Don’t you have an exam to catch in a while?”

Because Tzuyu preferred to get to the point.

“Which is why I wanted to ask you quickly, Miss Sana. I know I’m not in your class, but may I know when you leave after dismissal?”

Sana staggered a bit at the sudden directness, but quickly recovered to return the bluntness. “I don’t leave early after classes end, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Many thanks, Miss Sana.” She swiftly bowed and made to leave.

“Wait, Tzuyu.”

It was Tzuyu’s turn to be taken aback for the usual honey in Sana’s voice had dried up. She slowly turned back to face the Psych teacher again. “Tell the person that you’re asking on behalf of that it would be better and more polite to ask me directly instead of asking you to relay the message. Hopefully, your friend isn’t planning yet another childish confession, but if it’s something school-related, it’s even more important that they take charge for themselves and gain the courage to ask a question straight to my face.”

Sana’s face was completely serious.

_Gulp._

Behind Tzuyu’s similarly cool poker face, her heart was racing. She didn’t know Miss Sana could be this intimidating without even raising her voice.

“Understood, miss.”

“Splendid.” And just like that, the smile on Sana’s face returned and she was back to being Little Miss Sunshine. “Oh, and I hope Butter and Kaya are doing well, being healthy and all!”

Tzuyu was now dumbstruck. _She remembers my dogs’ names? I mentioned it like once in her presence and I wasn’t even talking to her!_

She stretched out a grin from an initial grimace and nodded slowly. “Yes, they are. Have a good day.”

When Tzuyu emerged from the shelves, she was in for another surprise in Miss Myoui folding her arms, her mouth stretched into a thin line.

“Miss Chou. Next time, do not forget to push your chair in.”

_The day hasn’t even started yet and everyone’s on my shit."_

_*_

The day is basically over now.

The rest of the afternoon would normally be used to cram some more information into an already wrung-out brain, but one Im Nayeon wasn’t the type for that. She was already severely burned out from those series of exams and it was just the first day.

_Thank God this all ends tomorrow._

She caught a lurid mix of colors out of the corner of her eye.

_For now, let’s have some fun._

Nayeon slipped away from the crowd of students exiting the classroom and trailed after Miss Kim, who soon entered the faculty room.

Nayeon hung around the entrance waiting for Miss Kim to settle into her cubicle. Then she snuck in.

There were already a few over-eager students hoping to consult on the tests they had just taken clumped together in the waiting area, which guaranteed her some cover. After all, Nayeon preferred a more non-confrontational way of collecting information. Especially because she had such a shaky relationship with the strict gym teacher to start with.

There was a small wall near the entrance of the room wherein you could peek around and check if the teacher you were looking for was there. Nayeon used this to her advantage as well.

She stuck her head into view and tried to lean as close as possible to the cubicle area, hopeful for a proper glimpse of Miss Kim in her natural habitat.

To her disappointment, Miss Kim’s cubicle was decidedly black-and-white and didn’t showcase much of her interests. Her work area was a sharp contrast to her seemingly endless collection of tacky tracksuits.

Nayeon frowned. _Tracksuits are so expensive to get, though._

She just had to hope for a miracle. She had something in mind.

To her delight, it didn’t take long for Miss Kim to jump out of her chair and head towards the mini fridge. Nayeon watched the gym teacher pull out a box of chocolates, remove the cover, and stare at the sweets with the same desire she only saw when Miss Kim was in the presence of a certain Psych teacher.

_Ah, so that’s what she likes._

Nayeon was picky about what kinds of chocolates she ate, but Miss Kim certainly wasn’t. Every kind with every kind of topping and filling were popped into the gym teacher’s mouth without a care in the world.

*

Dahyun wanted to marry these chocolates.

_Mmmm._

She savored each scrumptious piece through a hum of approval. Closed her eyes for the maximum experience.

Anything to forget what Jisoo blurted out today. She reasoned that she probably hallucinated the kid’s outburst.

When she finally opened her eyes and directed them to the waiting area filled with kids, her eyes narrowed.

A familiar head of hair ducked back behind the wall.

Dahyun furrowed her brows.

_Odd._

_Am I imagining things or was that the kid who never attends gym class?_

Seeing so many fallen heads shield shaking eyes made Dahyun remember every single hair.

She was hoping not to have that effect anymore, though.

She’d try at least.

All that aside, it was certainly odd that that girl would be here. Dahyun had never seen Nayeon hang around the faculty room. She wasn’t the sucking-up type at all.

Dahyun observed as a blur raced out of the room and down the hallway.

_Yep, that was her._

_Odd._

_*_

_Odd,_ Sana thought.

The other students all filed out faster than she expected, but not without the usual.

(“Miss—”

“No, Bang Chan, I am _not_ free on Saturday.”)

But Jeongyeon was still sitting up front, fiddling with her hoodie strings the way Sana noticed she always did when she was nervous.

"Jeongie, do you need something?" 

_*_

Jeongyeon always liked Miss Sana. She not only liked how nice the Psych teacher was, but respected her love for the subject she taught and her dedication to making sure her students weren’t let off so easy and actually got to learn the topics well.

It was normal for Jeongyeon to hear that nickname, but it wasn’t normal for her to try and keep up an actual conversation with her.

She’d try at least.

“Just wanted to talk about something, Miss Sana.”

“Ah, then bring your chair here.” Sana gestured for her student to come nearer.

Jeongyeon obeyed. Once she sat down in front of the desk, Sana rested her face on her palms.

“So, what’s up? Is it the material? You think you didn’t do well?”

“Um, no. It’s less about school and more on general advice, if you don’t mind.”

“Ah,” Sana mouthed, leaning back a bit with understanding on her face. “It’s a boy problem? Girl problem?”

Jeongyeon hesitated, before playing along. “Yes. To the latter.”

Sana smiled widely and motioned for Jeongyeon to continue.

“I was thinking of a treat to give this girl and I don’t know what I should get her. What kind of treat should I give her? What do _you_ think?”

Sana hummed and stroked her chin. “Personally, I like any kind of sweet treat. Perhaps your girl will appreciate anything tasty like I do. As long as she isn’t allergic to what you’ll give, of course.”

“Thank you, Miss.” Jeongyeon bowed quickly, about to stand up before Sana said,

“Wait, wait, wait. Everyone I’ve been seeing today keep on asking things and leaving immediately. I want to properly talk, if you’re okay.”

_Uh-oh._

“Oh. Sure.” Jeongyeon slowly lowered herself back on her seat.

“So,” Sana started. “Who is the lucky girl?”

“Uh, no one.”

Sana pouted. “Aw, well good luck, then.”

That pout reminded Jeongyeon of someone.

“Well, I guess there _is_ someone.”

Sana nodded encouragingly.

Jeongyeon paused for a bit.

“She’s the craziest, weirdest person I know, but she’s also the cutest. The most fascinating. I don’t really know what to think about her nowadays. It’s just that I’ve known her for so long, that I’m afraid it’ll get real awkward real fast.”

“What a coincidence! I know someone like that too,” Sana joked and let out a giggle, before returning back to a sober look. “But in all seriousness, this girl sounds like quite the find. I _probably_ don’t know her,” she winked, “but I can tell maybe, just maybe, she’s what you need.”

The corners of Jeongyeon’s lips slowly turned up into a tentative but earnest smile.

(“By the way, why did you go to me of all people?”

“Because you’re a Psych teacher?”

“Jeongie.”

“And you’re nice?”)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nayeon is me when it comes to master plans: forgoing subtlety in favor of style. also i kinda noticed that each member of the sewing circle has different ways of extracting info. its kind of like a personality test.
> 
> next chapter is the last!


	3. The Find-ale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...and it was prophesied that the last chapter be the longest.
> 
> here's where it all goes wrong...and right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, woop-de-do, here we are

Chaeyoung and Tzuyu were hunched over Jeongyeon’s desk watching her trying to imitate Miss Sana’s handwriting from one of her tests.

“A ‘ _good job, Jeongie’_ beside a big smiley face with heart eyes,” Tzuyu observed from the green ink on the Psych exam. “Are you sure we aren’t setting up the wrong people?”

Jeongyeon feigned vomiting. “Tzuyu-ah, you’re disgusting.”

The message was finished.

“ _’Don’t you think maybe they are the same thing? Love and attention?_

_Your favorites in the fridge. Meet me on the bench in the Cherry Lane.”_

Chaeyoung tilted her head. “That quote sounds familiar. Where’d you get it?”

Jeongyeon smiled fondly at the memory. “Last year, Nayeon showed me one of her favorite movies. It was called Lady Bird and she wouldn’t stop tugging at my sleeve at this scene saying, ‘This is my favorite part, this is my favorite part.’”

Chaeyoung and Tzuyu hummed in unison.

“A-and,” Jeongyeon stuttered. “Miss Sana loves this movie. She said so in Psych class.”

“You’re right, Tzu. Maybe we _did_ set up the wrong people.”

“Chae!”

Nayeon walked into the room. “Who are we talking about? Why are we yelling?”

“Nothing!” The three of them said simultaneously.

Nayeon stuck out her bottom lip. “Hmph, no one tells me anything these days.” She whipped out her phone and shook it gleefully. “Order taken.”

“Jackpot!” Chaeyoung pumped her fist.

Nayeon settled into her chair and emptied out her pockets full of a collection of folded papers, notes, and scraps. She searched through the heap. “Now, we have to drop off all these things separately or else we’ll be suspicious. Chaeyoung and Tzuyu with each of the extras, Jeongyeon and I with each of these little messages.”

Nayeon talked through the plan as she stuffed a folded paper into an envelope by her desk lamp. She sealed it with a quick lick and stuck it in her pocket along with all the other pieces of paper.

“What are you doing, you hoarder?”

“These are my unsigned failed tests. I carry them around with me to remind myself to let my parents sign them.”

Tzuyu scrunched her nose at the mound accumulating back into Nayeon’s pockets. “Looks like the reminder didn’t work.”

“Just you wait. I’m going to show them my Chemistry test real soon. It’s the one with the score closest to the passing grade.”

Jeongyeon frowned. “Nayeon…”

She’d known Nayeon since they were basically babies, and it kind of hurt to see her best friend gradually change from an enthusiastic overachiever who won countless out-of-school contests to someone who was barely even passing her classes.

“And when are _you_ going to sew up that hole in your hoodie, huh?” Nayeon shook her head and offered a laugh to brighten the mood. “Relax, Jeong, I’ll get out of this rut. I always find a way. Always.”

Jeongyeon detected a hint of defensiveness in her last ‘always’, but didn’t comment on it. Instead, she turned back to the message on her desk, folded it up, and stuck it in her drawer.

“Well, we put the fuel in the rocket. I guess all we need to do now is achieve the lift-off.”

(“What the hell kind of a metaphor was that?”

“I don’t know. I think she’s gone crazy too, Chae.”)

*

Last of two days dedicated to the end-of-quarter exams of JYP High. After the last exam is completed, the whole student body would be free, like doves released from cages of endless worry and anxiety.

Until the grades came out.

But that’s besides the point.

And anyway, the Sewing Circle was working towards a solution for that.

*

Dahyun had had enough.

 _Get over her,_ she decided. _You will get over her._

_She disrupts your boring, regular way of living (which you love very much, may I mention), overwhelms every part of you, makes you think harder than the electric bill, and continually confuses you with her actions._

_Most of all, she brings a lot of nonsense into your perfectly no-nonsense life._

_Get._

_Over._

_Her._

She repeated this over and over in her head as she leaned on the table by the water dispenser, sipping the cold liquid.

“Boo!”

“GAH!”

The rest of Dahyun’s drink spilled all over her tracksuit. She shot an apologetic look for her sudden exclamation to the teachers nearby.

Sana gasped. “I’m sorry!”

She immediately took out a silk handkerchief from the breast pocket of her newest purple-shaded blazer which was now a dark mauve hue, starting to pat down on the stain that was forming on Dahyun’s chest, before realizing what she was doing. She awkwardly chewed at her lip before shoving the hankie into Dahyun’s hands.

As the gym teacher continued to soak up the dark spot on her own (albeit somewhat disappointedly), Sana ventured down an apology again. “I’m so sorry, Dahyunnie. I just wanted to scare you, but I ended up ruining another one of your new tracksuits. If you want, I can pay for the dry cleaning and everything.”

Dahyun tossed the cup into the trash bin beside the dispenser and returned the hankie. She chuckled, amused at Sana’s rambling. “Relax, Sana. It’ll dry up on its own. It’s just water, you don’t have to panic about it.”

Sana dramatically clutched her chest and heaved a huge sigh, earning a laugh from Dahyun. “That’s a relief. I thought I’d just ruined designer. I’m saved.”

How long has it been since they met? A year? Or two?

And how did they meet? Did Dahyun trip over her shoelaces like she always did? Did Sana lean over her cubicle wall and charm the gym teacher with her wits?

Dahyun wasn’t sure. All she knew was she hadn’t known anyone quite like Minatozaki Sana.

She was best friends with Jihyo because they were similar. No-nonsense, logical, serious. Even Mina was like that.

Sana was nothing like that. Almost the whole of her was all nonsense, all feeling, all fun. She presented a challenge to Dahyun and as much as she tried to deny it, deep down inside, she loved it.

She loved the challenge.

The gym teacher playfully rolled her eyes. “You still owe me, though.” She pointedly tugged at the damp cloth. “It _is_ still a stain.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“The stain will dry up, but the emotional distress won’t. That’s going to cost you.”

“Uh-huh.”

“So, you still have to pay me one way or another.”

“Then make me.”

Woah.

They didn’t know how it had come to this, but their faces were mere inches apart and the tension had thickened in record timing.

It was at some point in their impish banter but Sana had suddenly started leaning too close, far too close, and to the gym teacher’s own surprise, Dahyun wasn’t recoiling, but was slowly gravitating towards her eyes, those big brown doe eyes…

…And then they realized where they were. Not alone, not in some secluded get-away, but the busy and bustling faculty room. They jumped apart.

“Well…” Sana tried after a short silence.

“So, what’s the payment method again?” Dahyun wisecracked, making Sana look down at the floor and giggle. God, she loved that giggle. Especially when she was the cause of it.

And then that reminder came rattling back into her brain.

_Get._

_Over._

_Her._

But not before she asked something important.

(“Oh, and before you go on down to the library again…”

“Hm?”

“How did you know this was a new tracksuit?”

She received a raised eyebrow, as if Sana was being asked the most obvious question in the entire world.

“I pay attention, Dahyunnie.”)

*

The exams were over. They were free.

Couples rushed to the bathrooms for celebratory make-out sessions. Burnt-out youngsters ran back to their dorm rooms for celebratory naps. Hungry students congregated at the cafeteria for celebratory snacks.

Now, the ones with the finest taste, however, where the ones who rushed all the way outside and flocked to the van parked across the soccer field and Cherry Lane with ‘Red Velvet Cakes, Sweets, and Desserts’ emblazoned in crimson lettering across the side.

Irene stepped out of the back of the van, clutching a clipboard at her side and barking orders to two employees unloading several boxes containing schoolmates’ celebratory orders.

She took in the incoming crowd with a self-satisfied smirk she exchanged with her younger sister Yeri, who was sitting at one of the tables at Cherry Lane with two orders ready. The distance between them did not bar them from sharing this smirk. The smirk one could spot from a hundred miles away. The signature Bae family smirk.

The smirk that meant business was booming.

*

Tzuyu and Chaeyoung were trailing behind the herd of starving clients, all the way until Cherry Lane where they found Yeri sitting with her back to the table, monitoring her older sister Irene. There were two identical red boxes sitting on the surface.

They could hear Irene’s voice carry out into the wind, addressing the horde. “No pushing, everyone! Remember, no refunds, no freebies, no replacements, no negotiations, no funny business! You get what you came for and that’s that!”

“Wow. Business looks good.”

“Yo, Tzuyu. Chaeyoung.” Yeri nodded to the box furthest away from her. “That’s yours. They look pretty similar, I know. These are the extras we had here at school so they’re unlabeled and I hope that’s alright with you.”

“As long as they’re chocolates, you know,” Chaeyoung said cheekily before waving briefly to the both of them and following after the crowd.

“Yeah, well it’s got to be this one that I pointed out to you guys. The other one is full of some atrocious-tasting vegan brownies. Don’t tell my mom I said that.”

Tzuyu took a seat beside Yeri, slipping the girl beside her some cash to pay for the chocolates, all while watching her girlfriend arrive at the van and struggle to get Irene’s attention due to her height.

“Must be a serious client, what with the very specific order.”

“Deadly.”

“Deadly scary?”

Yeri nodded. She leaned in, about to disclose what she considered confidential information. “Look, don’t tell anyone, but I’ve had my suspicions that she might be in some Yakuza-type shit.”

Tzuyu rapidly blinked, trying to register what had just come out of Yeri’s mouth.

“What?”

“Shit, I don’t know, man, it’s just that she gives the sexy cool mafia vibe and—”

“—your client? The vegan?”

“Yeah, and she’s _always_ on my shit for not pushing my chair in and she gets so creepy about it, I swear to God—"

“—wait, who are we talking about again?”

*

It’s been minutes, but it feels like hours.

“Irene! Irene!” Chaeyoung called out her name multiple times, trying to get her attention. They were on the Priorities list after all.

“Hey, asshole! Not yours! Put it back or I’ll tell Yeri over there to put your ass in its rightful place!”

“Irene!” Chaeyoung jumped for another futile attempt. Giving up, she then ducked under sweaty arms and maneuvered through impatiently swaying hips to reach the front.

“Oh, hey there.” Irene scanned the clipboard and handed her a small package from one of the boxes. “Here’s your cupcake.”

Chaeyoung gave her a wad of cash. “Thanks so much.”

In the background, Momo shouted, “While we wait, I’d like to present to you the perfect Momo move, this time with no interruptions! Watch and learn.” Egged on by her frisbee bros, she readied her body for her signature move.

Irene shook her head in a mixture of disapproval and slight enjoyment at the sight, before turning back to Chaeyoung. “You’re lucky Nayeon and I are so close. My parents were pretty pissed at the last-minute order before they heard it was the clown from the same circus.”

Hoots and howls were made for the first part of the Momo move, a cartwheel.

Irene winked. “This is a stupid plan, but I’m rooting for you guys. Been rooting for them to get together since day one.”

“Ha ha, yeah. Thanks again. I’ll be on my way now.”

Chaeyoung turned to leave, but bumped into someone much taller and bigger than she was. As a result, she stumbled backward and the package slipped out of her hands and onto the ground. It all happened so fast. A fuzzy whoosh in the air and—

_SPLAT!_

“MOMO, NO!” Chaeyoung screamed in horror.

“Momo, yes!” Momo cried triumphantly, before directing her eyes to the crumpled package beneath her feet.

“Oh.”

*

Tzuyu was half-listening to Yeri relaying her overblown conspiracy theories about the other client being in some quote-unquote “Yakuza-type shit” when they heard Chaeyoung’s panicked shriek ring through the afternoon air.

Tzuyu’s protective girlfriend instincts activated and she took off without a word, sprinting across the field to the source of the noise.

Yeri sighed and shook her head in disappointment. “It’s always the ones with the lovers who leave their friends behind.”

“Good afternoon, Miss Bae. I’m here for my order.”

Yeri’s eyes widened at the sound of that icy cool voice. She sprang up and faced the librarian like a soldier in front of her commanding officer.

“Yes, Miss Myoui, right there.”

Miss Myoui narrowed her eyes. She tucked one of the boxes under her arm and set down some money in its place.

“Have a good day, then,” she said, not letting go of her aloof tone.

Yeri gaped at the librarian who was now walking away.

She shuddered, whispering to herself, “I mean if she’s not a crime syndicate boss, then she’s at least incapable of love.”

*

It was the second time in the span of just two days in which Jihyo had to kick her feet off the table and make it look like she was doing very adult, very responsible things.

It was also the second time her shoulders sagged in quiet relief when she saw who appeared at the doorframe.

“Darling!”

Mina carefully closed the door behind her and stepped towards her wife with barely contained eagerness.

Jihyo noticed Mina’s hands holding something behind her back. “Are you hiding something from me? Divorce papers?” She joked.

Mina revealed the red box, already giddy. “No, silly! I got your favorite!”

“Peanut butter vegan brownies with gluten-free sprinkles on top?!”

“Yes!” Mina nodded, her head bobbing up and down excitedly. She slid the box across the desk. “Happy anniversary!”

To Mina’s surprise, Jihyo pulled her in for a quick but deep kiss, leaving her dazed.

“You’re the sweetest.”

“Yep, that’s me.”

Mina turned back, about to sit on the couch, when she felt Jihyo zip from behind the desk to catch her in a tight back-hug.

A low whisper that came after that literally breathtaking capture threw her in for a loop.

“You really think…you could just get away after pulling a nasty prank like that?”

“W-what,” Mina stammered, then steadied her voice. “What prank?”

“I was promised my peanut butter vegan brownies with gluten-free sprinkles on top. Instead, I opened the box and found an assortment of greasy-ass chocolates.”

“You WHAT?!”

*

Everyone was out celebrating the end of exams.

It was the perfect cover.

Jeongyeon would go to the faculty room and put the note on the shelves, then Nayeon would follow in a little while.

As soon as the bell rang, they had jumped off their seats and raced down the hallway, waiting at their designated spots for their designated timetable.

The faculty was up ahead. Nothing left to do but walk. Just look nonchalant.

And so Jeongyeon walked. She played with the strings on her hoodie as she threw several glances over her shoulder for anyone who’d be following.

_Phew. Only the janitor, Mr. Jin-young._

She couldn’t take her eyes off the old man who had a broom in one hand and a Walkman in the other and was shamelessly lip-syncing to some old song from the 90’s. Jeongyeon chuckled at the sight, unaware of the note falling through the hole in her hoodie and fluttering across the hall.

The realization only sunk in when she saw the paper being swept up by Mr. Jin-young’s broom and into his foldable dustpan.

“Wait, Sir!”

“Ah, Jeongyeon! There you are.”

Principal Park tapped on Jeongyeon’s shoulder, making the student spin around.

“Miss Sana told me you did well again on your exam yesterday.”

“Thank you, Ma’am, but I really have to go—”

“The afternoon is young, Jeongyeon. Where could you possibly be off to?” Principal Park motioned to the mostly empty hall. “But most of all, I was looking for you since I wanted to talk about the awards ceremony next Monday?”

“Awards ceremony?”

“Yes, well, _award._ You won an out-of-school essay contest on the topic of ‘Saving the Environment’, didn’t you?”

Jeongyeon shyly rubbed the back of her head. “Yes, Ma’am.”

“And I want to brief you on how it will all play out. I don’t want the current pride of our high school to be embarrassed on stage.” Principal Park clapped Jeongyeon’s back. “Come on, Jeongyeon, don’t disappoint me. You have all the time in the world. Your exams are over. This won’t take long.”

“But—”

But Principal Park was already steering Jeongyeon to her office. “Now, now, don’t be another one to disappoint me today. My wife brought me chocolates instead of my precious vegan brownies. I’m heartbroken and my emotional state is fragile.”

*

Nayeon didn’t see Jeongyeon in the hall, which meant her best friend had done her job well.

They’ve had their ups and downs in their friendship, but when worse comes to worst, they always had each other’s backs. Nayeon was glad Jeongyeon had hers.

She passed the aggressively dancing Mr. Jin-young and made wide and exaggerated strides all the way to the faculty room, imitating the Pink Panther in a way.

Maybe she shouldn’t have done that since it was a waste of time, but it made her feel like she was in a spy movie. Nayeon slipped into the faculty room and glimpsed the cubicles before pulling back behind the wall and bounding over to the shelves by it.

Nayeon searched for Miss Kim’s name, her sight gliding up and down at the name tags.

_B, C, G, J, K._

_Kang, Kee, Keun…_

_Kim._

_Dammit, so many Kims._

She looked back, hoping none of the teachers would see.

_Kim, Kim, Kim Ahyoung, Kim Boa, Kim…_

_Dahyun!_

Without a second thought, Nayeon fished out an envelope from the mound in her pocket and crammed it into the gym teacher’s appointed compartment.

She departed from the room in high spirits.

Now that the rest of the day would be free, Nayeon could now put her mind towards organizing the heap of unsigned tests in her pockets. She wanted to show Jeongyeon she wasn’t a hot mess and she didn’t need to be pitied.

Nayeon searched in her pocket for that Chemistry test.

“Where is it?” she muttered to herself. She turned the other pocket inside out. “I’m sure it’s not in the dorm, though?”

Slightly panicking now, she traced back her steps in minutes, hours, to the night before.

_Oh my God._

She turned back to the faculty room.

_I accidentally put my test in the envelope with the letter!_

_Shit._

Nayeon dashed back and stumbled into the room, out of breath. Thank God it was still in the ‘Kim Dahyun’ compartment.

She snatched it back and ripped it open in a flash. She sighed with relief, taking out the folded test that had been safe and snug in the belly of the message.

The compartment of Miss Sana caught her eye. She wondered why it was still empty.

“Nayeon?”

Nayeon rammed the envelope and test back into her pocket.

Miss Kim squinted at her, a bit doubtful of the student's intentions.

“Was that yours?” The gym teacher pointed at Nayeon’s pocket.

_How to die, how to die, how to die—_

“Yes.” Nayeon gave her best but strained smile.

“Was that for me?”

“Um.”

_Do I lie?_

_Say no._

_No._

“Yes.”

_Are you shitting me?_

Miss Kim, though still visibly skeptical, relaxed her posture a bit. She stretched out her hand. “Well then, I’ll just have that please.”

_Think fast._

_Pull an excuse out of your ass._

_Do it. Now._

“No!” Nayeon blurted, alarming both of them. “I mean, yes. No. I can’t. I’ll just tell it to you.”

Miss Kim folded her arms apprehensively. “I’ll just have it, Nayeon.”

Nayeon gulped.

_You can do this._

“No, I—it’s an apology, and since you’re already here and I don’t want to be a coward about it, I’ll just tell you if you don’t mind.”

She took a deep breath.

_This is not an excuse out of my ass. This is real._

“I was going to be a scaredy-cat about it and just write you a letter but now that you’re in front of me, I decided I’ll just say sorry. Sorry for being absent almost every gym class. Sorry for being a nuisance. Sorry for disturbing you two days ago when I was bit—I mean, snapping back at Irene. Sorry that we’re so annoying and we sometimes give you a hard time with your job and sometimes even talk behind your back about your weird-looking tracksuits—this one today is nice, though—and about your, um, attitude. Sorry that we sometimes wish Miss Sana would come in so you could be happy for the rest of the period. In general, sorry.”

She was out of breath.

Miss Kim took in the whole speech and placed her hands on her hips. She sighed after Nayeon had finished, then looked down at the floor. She looked back up.

“Did Jisoo tell you to write this for the class?”

“No, Miss, but it was…discussed.”

“Well, then, I’m sorry too, kiddo.”

_What?_

“Sorry for being such a terror teacher. Sorry for being too strict. Sorry that I gave you guys such a hard time and made you afraid of gym class. Sorry for not being friendly enough and just overall being kind of an ass. Sorry for needing Miss Sana to pacify me.”

Dahyun nervously picked at the zipper on her tracksuit. “I’ll try not to be a coward like you tried not to be and tell the class that next week.” She gave a warm smile and retreated back to her cubicle.

Nayeon was stunned.

_What the hell happened?_

She pushed open the door and stepped out of the room into the hallway. And went back down it.

*

Nayeon dragged her feet into the dorm room. Jeongyeon was standing in the middle of their room, pulling at her hoodie strings, which alternated height at breakneck speed. She snapped out of her string-pulling trance when she spotted Nayeon.

“Nayeon, I’m so sorry. Principal Park pulled me down a detour and then Bang Chan was bothering me about Miss Sana and before I knew it…”

Jeongyeon’s voice died away when she saw Nayeon’s blank face.

Nayeon chuckled wryly. “It’s alright, Jeong. I also didn’t get to deliver mine.”

“Wait, what? Why?”

“I shouldn’t have thought of it in the first place.” She trudged to the bunk bed and sunk onto the bottom bed. Jeongyeon followed and threw an arm around Nayeon.

“It was selfish. It was playing with the hearts of two people. And it was pretty much just so we could benefit off the relationship.”

Nayeon buried her face in Jeongyeon’s hoodie, bunching up the cloth in her large hand. Then she let out her tears.

“I’m—I’m sorry, Jeong. It was all a waste. I wasted all your time for something stupid.” Nayeon spoke in between sobs. “A-a waste.”

Jeongyeon stroked the back of Nayeon’s head. “It’s okay, Nabongs. I was happy to do it.”

Nayeon lifted up her tear-stained face and looked Jeongyeon (who didn’t let go of the back of her head, still giving gentle rubs) square in the eye. “You haven’t called me that since middle school. And you’re not making fun of how ugly I look right now.” She creased her brows. “I’m suspicious.”

Jeongyeon chuckled warmly. “You shouldn’t be. I bicker with you because I don’t want to show that this is what I’m willing to do for you.” She dried Nayeon’s cheeks with her sleeve.

“For a pathetic ass?”

“Nabongs.”

The waterworks start to flow again. Nayeon retreated back into the safety of Jeongyeon’s hoodie. “Ever since middle school ended, everything just got harder,” she mumbled into the fabric. “And now everything’s the same old routine. Deadline, meet it. Deadline, meet it. Nothing’s fun anymore.”

She continued. “I did genuinely think they had the hots for each other. I mean no one could deny the chemistry between them. But really, this whole scheme was so the whole Sewing Circle could just get closer, I guess. And that this whole stupid thing would spice up our school life. I don’t know, just get into some shenanigans. Get better grades in an alternative way. See one more romance bloom in this shitty world.”

Jeongyeon was upset. Upset because the usually perky Nayeon had finally found something to wear her down. Upset at herself, too, because she wasn’t there enough for her best friend. Now, she wanted to show that she was going to be there for Nayeon’s lowest of lows.

“Is that really what you think of the world, Nayeon? Shitty?”

“Lately? Maybe.”

Jeongyeon took Nayeon’s chin between her thumb and forefinger and lifted her head up to be in level with her own.

“I want to show you that it’s not,” Jeongyeon murmured, before slowly leaning in.

The kiss was a light brush between lips and lasted for only a few seconds, but in the short time that they remained stuck to each other, it had felt like the whole world had melted away. The sound of the humming fan had waned, the loud noises from the field carrying into the window had faded, and their problems and past arguments and future worries had turned into dust, even if for a moment.

When they pulled apart unhurriedly, they felt each part of their lips pull away too, like the softest and sweetest of Velcro. It was barely a kiss: there was no movement and no apparent heat, but there was a trust and a care about it that left them breathing heavily like they had just run a mile.

It was barely a kiss, but it was the perfect first kiss.

Both slowly opened their eyes.

“Oh wow.”

“Yeah.”

The slight teenage after-kiss awkwardness steadily dawned on them.

And then they howled and laughed with all the rest of the breath they could muster.

“Didn’t know you were such a good kisser,” Nayeon quipped in between fits of laughter.

(“But you did get what you wished for.”

“And that is?”

“See one more romance bloom in this shitty world.”

“Yoo Jeongyeon, you sap.”)

*

Chaeyoung and Tzuyu had bounced up the stairs, down the hall, and outside their room before they caught Nayeon and Jeongyeon sharing a tender moment inside.

They briefly spied on them from behind the slightly ajar door before pulling away and going back the way they came.

“I think it’s all good now. Except for the non-refundable treats we lost.”

“At least it’s nice that they’re figuring their shit out. It was getting tiring.”

Tzuyu stopped Chaeyoung for a bit and bent down to kiss her cheek, before pulling her along.

“Now come on. I still owe Jennie a cone.”

Chaeyoung stared up at her girlfriend with big puppy-dog eyes. “How about me?"

“I’ll give you all the cones you want," Tzuyu cooed.

*

6:40 P.M.

“Hey, Sana! Why are you still here?”

Yeah, why was Sana still here?

It was dark out already. Curfew was up for those staying in the dormitories. The classrooms and hallways were completely empty. Mr. Jin-young was now playing his sad ballads through his Walkman (and crying his eyes out as he flitted through each room to lock them).

The only things illuminating the night were the full yellow moon, the scattered white stars, and the warm orange fairy lights wrapped around the trees lining the field and Cherry Lane.

Jihyo waved a hand over Sana’s face.

“Satang?” Mina uttered.

“Oh! Right. Um, I don’t know, I just wanted to see the lights at this hour. They’re so pretty.”

Jihyo beamed at this statement and looked around her. “They do, don’t they? I thought they’d be a nice addition.”

“You’re right, darling. They really brighten up the place,” Mina added. “Anyway, Satang, don’t stay too late.”

“I won’t, Minari. Bye-bye now. Happy anniversary again.”

“Thanks!” Jihyo and Mina said at the same time, before heading across the field and into the small parking lot.

Sana leaned back against the bench. She sighed, watching as the air that emanated from her mouth appeared in front of her as a small white wisp. Good thing she was bundled up, with a coat and a thick scarf swaddling up her neck up to her bottom lip. The air was cold and the breeze was threatening to pick up into unstopping gusts at any moment, but somehow, Sana liked the way the wind played with the leaves like a cat pawing curiously at a post in one moment, then scratching furiously at it in the other.

It reminded her of the wind in her hometown in Japan.

But yes, they were right. Why was she still here? There really was no reason for her to stay this late as she often did. She could have just gone and settled at the balcony of her apartment, where there was a better view of the moon, with a hot mug of tea in her hand.

Suddenly, she spotted a figure in the night. Sana was at first frightened, her mind immediately remembering the rumors about ghosts roaming around the school grounds. And then, she was confused. Then relieved. Then worried sick.

It was Dahyun, power walking on her way to the field, in nothing but her undershirt and the tracksuit that Sana had caused water to spill over earlier this morning. Even in the distance, Sana could see her shaking and struggling to even stay upright in the chilly evening.

Oh, Dahyun. Why was she always like this? Why did she never plan ahead?

Sana wasn’t so sure Dahyun remembered how they met, but then again, she was sure Dahyun would have denied it if she recounted it.

_“Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?”_

_What?_

_Sana searched for the origin of the voice and saw a pale shape hovering over her cubicle wall. Not one of the famed ghosts of JYP High, but—_

_“Aren’t you the new gym teacher?”_

_Behind the sweating would-be flirt, she could see Sunmi leaning against the wall, snickering into her morning coffee. Sana’s keen eye spotted the paper bill sticking out of the Chem teacher’s pocket._

_Hm. Well, two people can play that game._

_“No, hotshot, ‘cause I’m glad you caught me.”_

_She knew it was equally as corny, but it was enough to leave the new gym teacher in a stuttering mess. Sunmi had disappeared around the corner, probably to laugh alone in her cubicle._

_“Dammit.” The gym teacher muttered. Then she said, a bit louder: “I’m sorry for this. Miss Lee just said she’d bet me a couple won I could out-flirt you. Said it was a tradition for all the new teachers.”_

_“Well, don’t be stupid enough to believe her. She likes to mess with new blood, even some students,” Sana said, not unkindly. She stretched out her hand. “I’m Minatozaki Sana.”_

_The gym teacher blushed and froze for a bit, before draping her red-and-green checkered arm over the cubicle wall and shaking Sana’s hand. “I’m Kim Dahyun.”_

_Nice._

_“Hm. Kim Dahyun.”_

“Dahyun!” Sana called out to her. “Dahyunnie!”

The gym teacher’s head turned to the voice. Froze in place for a few seconds, as if she was debating pretending to be a tree, but instead jogged back towards Cherry Lane.

Sana immediately stood up to receive her.

“What are you doing, being out here in the open with no layers? Layers, Dahyunnie!” Sana removed the scarf around her neck and wrapped it around the trembling gym teacher. Dahyun thought it was cute that Sana was trying to sound angry, but instead sounded like a kindergartener whining. “You never listen, do you?”

“Not listen, just forget,” Dahyun argued.

“Which meant you just heard me say it, but you never really stopped and listened.” Sana fluffed up the scarf, trying to make it as big as possible. “See? You don’t listen.”

“I do.”

“You don’t.”

“Prove it.”

“Alright.”

There it was. Again.

They’d found themselves inches apart from each other. Again.

And Dahyun had moved back and taken a seat on the bench. Again.

They didn’t know why this kept happening, and why they could never close the distance. It was just their little unspoken thing. How long has _that_ been going on?

Sana took up the space beside Dahyun.

For a while, they just sat there. Not speaking. Just witnesses to the wind playing its little game.

Everything else besides them was in motion. Leaves plucking themselves from thin branches. The grass lurching forward and reeling backward with each change of direction by the wind. A stray cat even zoomed across the field to safer ground.

It was the comfortable silence Dahyun shared with the only other person closest to her. It was the comfortable silence Sana secretly loved, which was why she spent the earliest minutes of the day in the library.

Then one of them broke through it.

“I wanted to ask you something.”

Sana didn’t respond, a quiet encouragement for the person beside her to go on. Dahyun, feeling a little braver, took the chance.

The wind could play its little games, but she was adamant that they wouldn’t do that from now on.

She’d at least try.

“Do you…”

She left those words hanging.

“…like…”

_Like what?_

_Who?_

_Just spit it out._

“…ME?”

Dahyun slapped her hands over her mouth. That came out too loud. So much for asking nicely.

Awkward.

Never again.

Dahyun removed her hands from her face and hopped off the bench. She made wide, long steps across the dirt, then the track, then the soccer field, determined to cover more distance in a shorter time.

_Crunch. Crunch. Crunch._

Grass blades were crushed under her now muddy sneakers. The wind picked up and started to blow harder. She just wanted to go home.

_Awkward. Awkward. Come on, Dahyun!_

_Crunch. Crunch._

She noted the scarf around her neck that was definitely not hers. She reasoned she’d just come back really early next week and drop it off in Sana’s cubicle before the Psych teacher came in.

Why was the wind blowing so hard? Dahyun vaguely remembered a weather report earlier this morning as she zipped up her tracksuit. Did it mention strong winds?

_Crunch. Crunch. Cru—_

_Crunchcrunchcrunchcrunchcrunch._

Dahyun heard running footsteps and quickened her pace, but it was too late.

Sana grabbed hold of Dahyun’s arm and spun her around to face her. Sana’s face was pure incredulity—just a combination of a question mark and an exclamation point.

“What the hell was that?!”

Dahyun didn’t know either, which was why she dipped out of there in the first place.

“Dahyunnie, you’re scaring me.”

 _Easy for you to say._ You _scare me._

“Fine! I’ll do it!” Sana yelled, fighting with the wind to make herself heard.

“I like you. I like your endless closet of tracksuits and the fact that all of them are checkered and have at least two colors that are so far apart in the color wheel. I like that you’re really sensitive underneath but you try to hide it because you don’t know how to deal with feelings. I like that you try and fail to hide how annoyed you are with me when I don’t eat my Kit Kat bar by bar. I like that you come to school even when you don’t have classes, because it assures me that I can see you every single day. I like your smile, your frown, your blush, your hair, your eyes, you, you, you! I LIKE YOU, DAMMIT!”

The combined force of Sana’s final exclamation and the gusts of wind would have knocked Dahyun off her feet if Sana wasn’t holding her steady by her arm.

“Now can we stop being stupid and scared like a couple of high school kids and just acknowledge this? Or at least talk it out?”

Dahyun was at war with her throat. She was swallowing a big lump in it, and at the same time, trying to revive the voice that had died in it. She was also battling the rest of her body. Her brain was short-circuiting, her right eye was twitching, and her whole being was just screaming at her to get closer.

Miscalculating the distance, her body lurched forward and crashed into Sana, who had to step back a bit to avoid falling down. Then Dahyun cupped Sana’s face in her hands and kissed her. A bit too hard.

Dahyun was no Casanova after all. Just a simple gym teacher who had hopelessly fell for the Psych teacher three cubicles down and had wanted to show her just how deep she had fallen.

They were a mess.

The wind was blowing their hair all over the place and they even caught a few of each other’s strands in their mouths. They were trying not to trip and fall. Their hands roamed all over the place and it was just plain embarrassing to see.

But Dahyun and Sana didn't register any of these things. In this moment in time, they knew only two things exist.

Their lips, which looked like they had been fused permanently together.

And their hearts, that had burst through their chests and collided together to keep each other warm in the freezing cold wind that had reached almost hurricane-levels of strong. It’s almost as if nature was trying to encircle them and push them closer together.

Sana is the one who pulled away, but she didn’t travel far. They were still incredibly close, feeling each other’s hot breath on skin.

For a moment, they just stared into each other’s eyes and their hold on each other tightened.

And then Sana leaned in again, this time for a sweeter, softer kiss. Dahyun deepened it, but didn’t go as hard as the first time. It was still a bit messy, but it was definitely more of the storybook kiss they were hoping for. Minus the howling wind, of course.

Finally, the kiss ended and they were left breathing heavily, still clinging onto each other, clinging on to those two kisses, processing them and committing them to memory.

“Well, the last one was better,” Dahyun suddenly quipped. Sana giggled her signature honey sweet giggle.

“I really didn’t care, Dahyunnie. As long as it’s with you.”

They laughed.

They laughed even as they walked off the spot they were rooted to.

They laughed even when they were stepping out of the field and into the parking lot.

They laughed even when Sana leaned in to whisper in Dahyun’s ear something in Japanese. Dahyun’s limited knowledge of the language recognized something about a ‘moon’, but she just packed it away into her head.

This was still so awkward. They felt like kids not knowing where they were going. And the way they had come together was full of blips, missteps, and just general weirdness.

Oddly, they didn’t care.

All that nonsense worked out in the end.

(“Are we gonna keep this a secret from the kids?”

“For the laughs? Maybe yes. For now.”

Sana giggled.

“What?”

“I really thought the kids were planning something. Everyone was just running around, being kind of suspicious.”

“I know, right? I was at least convinced _something_ was going on. I’m glad they weren’t cooking up something fishy. It would have been disastrous.”)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i decided to let 2yeon have the more mature ending and saida the more comedic one, just to mix things up.
> 
> thanks again to those who have stuck by since the first chapter and also to those who have just discovered this.  
> it was a short journey, but a fun one :D
> 
> comments are very much appreciated! :)


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